Introduction to Scams
It might feel a little overwhelming to have complete strangers quickly coming up to you asking a barrage of questions. Asking where you are from or asking how long you have been in Egypt etc. I certainly know it was for us. Touts will try to be overfriendly or charismatic so you will become comfortable with them. At that point it becomes much easier to extract money from you.
An important thing to remember is to always keep your composure. If you believe someone is trying to scam you, ignore them or say, “La Shukran”. Which means no thank you in Arabic.
A few basic guides lines for visiting Egypt and having an enjoyable time are:
- Dress moderately, if you are a woman wear pants/skirts that go below the knees and men wear long pants.
- Don’t let anyone make you nervous, touts are almost always harmless and its easier to trick someone who is nervous.
- Always agree to a price before buying street food, getting into a taxi, boat ride etc.
- Don’t agree to something you do not want to do. This could be a guide, buying a product, etc.
- If random people are telling you that something is closed, ignore them. Look for something official.
1. I work at your hotel
While walking the streets of Luxor, me and Madeline were stopped by someone claiming to work at our hotel. Surprised by this coincidence, we began to speak to the man. After conversing a while he apologies on behalf of Egypt for the scammers/hustlers in the country. Ironically, after talking for a few minutes the man eventually steers the conversation to getting us to buy something from a family market vendor. It felt very strange to have someone pretend to know us from the hotel and ultimately lie about it.
So basically someone pretends to work at your hotel to gain your trust so you will listen to what they have to say or follow some sort of direction.
The way to avoid this hustle is to ignore it and avoid eye contact, or you could have fun by saying, “oh really what hotel?” and watch them awkwardly try to come up with an answer.
Market in Aswan
2. Vendor Pricing/Bargaining
Stores without marked prices will almost certainly need to be bargained down. This is less of a scheme and more so just the method in which products are sold within the country. It can actually be a very valuable/fun skill to acquire. If I had not acquired this skill I would have paid 1200 EGP for my souvenir t-shirt and not 150 EGP.
Bargaining for a beginner can seem like a daunting task but it is actually much easier than you might think.
My personal approach to haggling is:
- Get a basic understanding of what a fair price for the said item should be. A simple internet search could give you this information. If that doesn’t work, you can approach multiple vendors about the same item and see how cheap each vendor is willing to sell their product.
- Understand vendors from bargaining cultures will usually start at double the sell price. Example 500 EGP should be met with a 250 EGP counter offer. Sometimes this may not be accurate so its important to get an understanding of a fair sell price
- Tell the vendor that you see the exact same item a few steps away (because you probably will) and that you are considering asking what their prices are.
- Always remember that you are not obligated to buy anything just because you have spoken with a vendor. Just say that you are thankful for their time and walk away. More often than not while walking away the vendor will offer his lowest price.
3. Overcharging Taxi Drivers
Taxis overcharging for their services is a common occurrence in Egypt as well as many other countries.
When exiting the airport we were immediately swarmed by multiple taxi drivers nearly shouting that they each had the best price. This is usually not true especially at airports. Cab drivers at airports will usually charge you double or sometimes triple average price.
Sometimes cab drivers will take longer than necessary routes to ramp up prices or will say that certain areas are under construction so a detour is needed. When riding to/exciting the airport, some taxi drivers will say that there are entrance/exits fees.
A method we use to avoid these scenarios is to use ride share apps. The price is already decided when you book the ride which is invaluable. When booking rides in these apps, there is usually an option for a slightly higher priced driver that has a good reputation and many reviews. In my opinion this is worth the small increase in price as even ride share drivers have been reported to try to scam customers.
Tea in a Restaurant in Giza
4. Store Owners Offering You Tea
This happened to us multiple times in Cairo. Many store owners will stand outside of their place of business and attempt to persuade you into entering their store with the hopes that you will purchase something.
Some store owners will insist that they make you tea. The reason for this is that you will then feel obligated to buy an item from their store as they have done you a service. Another reason is that you will spend more time in the store while the tea is brewing.
The best way to avoid this is to simply decline the tea when offered. If the store owner attempts to guilt you for previously drank tea, offer to pay no more than the average price for it.
5. Stores Overpricing You for Items
Smaller locally owned stores without price scanners at checkout will usually have their prices written in Egyptian Arabic numerals below their items. If you are unable to read these numbers shop owners may be tempted to charge you extra.
The shop owners jaws would nearly hit the floor when they would figure out we could read the numbers on their prices. Sometimes they would try to justify their overcharging by saying that the price we could read was the old price. We would just say that we were no longer interested. After that the owner would just agree to the correct price.
To avoid this hustle simply learn the Egyptian Arabic numerals 1-10. Its actually much easier than you think and you can practice on license plates as soon as you leave the airport.
Madeline in front of the Pyramids of Giza
6. Forced Tour Guide
I personally enjoy history and like to learn the landmark I am going to through the internet before I go. This ultimately defeats the purpose of tour guides for us. This is just a personal preference for us both so its perfectly fine to take a tour guide.
So because of this we went to all the temples, pyramids, tombs etc. without a tour guide. This would cause many random men to walk to up to us trying to explain things in the area in hopes that they would get a tip.
The way to avoid this scam is to say you do not want a tour guide when they start explaining things immediately. If this does not work say that you are not carrying cash. If you want to avoid this altogether you always have the option to book a tour guide through a trusted source.
7. Unwanted Help
When walking the streets of Egypt, people will approach you in attempt to help you. Whether it be for directions, finding a place to eat etc. While we encountered many very kind and honest people during our time in the country, people attempting to help you will usually want a tip for their assistance.
To avoid this you can simply say no when they offer for help or say no when asking for a tip.
Me riding a camel by the Pyramid of Khafre
8. Camel Rides
Ah yes, the famous camel ride scam. This one is tough because everyone always tells you to just never get on top of the camel in the first place. This is due to the fear of being stuck on top of a very tall animal with no way down. But if this is on your bucket list or is a need for the gram than this was my approach.
There are signs posted near the ticket booth at the entry of The Pyramids of Giza for the price of a 1 hour camel ride per animal. I believe it was around 500 EGP per person per hour. Take a picture of this sign and present it to the camel wrangler. Tell him this is what you are going pay and that is the official government price. If he disagrees move on to someone else. Make sure you agree to the price beforehand.
You are also completely able to walk to the panoramic viewpoint of the pyramids without a camel. If anyone tells you that you can’t just ignore them and keep walking.
9. Let me take your photo
People may sometimes offer to take your picture for you at tourist hot spots. They may even attempt to grab at your phone to take the picture for you as they claim to know the best angles.
This is more than likely them wanting a tip for their service of taking your picture. Luckily only one person tried to grab at my phone during our whole stay in Egypt and that was at the Sphinx.
The way to avoid this scam is to ask a couple or another tourist to take your picture in exchange for you taking their picture. If someone attempts to grab at your phone, very firmly say no and pull your phone from their reach.
Me and my new friend
10. Restaurant Price Change
While dining in restaurants it is always important to keep track of the items you order. Restaurants will sometimes bring things to your table that you did not order and attempt to charge you.
It is also important to keep track of the price of the food you order to avoid this scam in Egypt. If a restaurant owner is very hastily trying to take the menu away from you, then there could possibly be a reason for it. They might not want you to see the prices for too long
When you pay, the bill might be more than the set price of what you ordered. If the bill does not add up there might be a service charge included in the price. If that is not the case then the owner is trying to charge you extra. You are absolutely allowed to ask the restaurant owner/server where the charges came from if they do not add up.
11. That’s the Wrong Ticket
Luckily this never happened to us in all of our travels in Egypt but I thought it was worth mentioning. Apparently hustlers will sit in random areas around the Pyramids of Giza waiting for unsuspecting travelers.
They will attempt to inform the traveler that they have purchased the wrong ticket for the area and that a different one is needed. This is untrue and don’t even stop to acknowledge them or show your ticket.
Some people within the Pyramids of Giza complex will also tell you that you are not allowed to walk within certain area without a guide. Unless the area has been fenced off or there is a clear sigh, you are allowed to walk there.
To remedy this just pretend like they do not exist and don’t make eye contact.
12. People Sticking Things in Your Hands
While visiting The Pyramids of Giza, we had a salesman with plastic packages run up beside us. He began to talk to me very quickly, asking me where I was from, and telling me he liked my moustache. I continued to walk and didn’t acknowledge him.
The man then proceeds to stick a plastic bag filled with God knows what in my arms. I told him I don’t want it multiple times but he kept telling me it was, “a gift”. This is never true and the person doing this will most certainly want money for whatever he has given you. I eventually just stuck the bag back into his hands and kept walking. Thankfully he left us alone after that.
This usually only occurs at the Pyramids of Giza. Other places around Egypt don’t seem to have this problem.
In this situation, just hand the bag back to the person. You can also tell them you do not have any money.